Sheriff Ross Teeple: Unlocked Jail Experiment, Border Threats & Cop War Stories
Things Police See: Firsthand Accounts
Steven D Gould
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple joins the show to discuss his bold leadership, the high-stakes Netflix series "Unlocked: A Jail Experiment" Season 2, and life inside Arizona's corrections system. Fresh off taking office, Sheriff Teeple shares how he was "strong-armed" (old friends) by predecessor Sheriff Mark Lamb into filming a groundbreaking re-entry program that unlocked jail cells, shifted to indirect supervision, and empowered inmates to self-govern—aiming to build responsibility, reduce recidivism, and break cycles of crime.
Hear raw stories from his career: his first high-speed pursuit gone wrong, a terrifying hand-to-hand fight during an arrest, heartbreaking search-and-rescue recoveries (including a tragic plane crash in the Superstition Mountains), bizarre and intense calls, and a heartwarming success saving a young woman from a predatory relationship.
Sheriff Teeple opens up about border security challenges near the Tohono O'odham Nation (where 80% of U.S. fentanyl crosses), cartel threats on American soil, drone smuggling risks, staffing shortages, pay raises for detention officers, and advice for new law enforcement recruits: put down the phone, build real-world communication skills, and seek face-to-face conflict resolution.
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment Season 2 now on Netlfix - https://www.netflix.com/title/81476420
Follow Sheriff Teeple on Instagram @teepleforthepeople
Pinal County Sheriff's Office on Youtube
@PinalCountySheriffsOffice
Contact Steve - steve@thingspolicesee.com
Support the TPS show by joining the Patreon community today! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=27353055
Sergeant Steve Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@UCuobtuGxJny9V5lX5a1ieuw
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is things police see. |
| 0:04.0 | First-Han accounts with your host, Steve Gold. |
| 0:08.0 | Welcome to the podcast to interviews active, retired police officers about the most intense, bizarre, and sometimes humorous moments on the job. |
| 0:15.0 | His eye, old ginger face, here with you as always, guys. |
| 0:19.0 | Thank you for being here. |
| 0:20.0 | Thank you for joining us. Thank you to all |
| 0:21.8 | the Sergeant Steve people on YouTube who have slid over here into the podcast and are now binge |
| 0:29.3 | listening to the podcast. I truly appreciate that. That's awesome. Some of you are even choosing to be |
| 0:33.3 | Patreon supporters, which is great, keeps the boat afloat, keeps the lights on, as I say, with the podcast, pays all those bills. |
| 0:40.5 | So thank you, thank you. Today's guest, very excited to have him. |
| 0:46.5 | This is the second time I'm going to have somebody in his position. It's a rather influential and big law enforcement position in the country. |
| 0:53.5 | He's got 30 years in public service total. |
| 0:55.9 | He served in the Navy during Desert Storm. He was also an Arizona corrections officer. |
| 1:01.5 | Then went to work for the Pinell County Sheriff's Office. He just recently retired a lieutenant |
| 1:06.3 | is now the sheriff of the Hold Dang County. and this county is the size of the state of |
| 1:11.2 | Connecticut and in his new office he also decided to allow film crews in as newly elected |
| 1:18.8 | sheriff he launched a bold six-week experiment locking the doors to an entire pot and giving |
| 1:22.5 | inmates unprecedented control after years of violence, lockdowns, repeat offenders, |
| 1:28.1 | having created a cycle of aggression that seems impossible to break. |
| 1:30.8 | And now the jail becomes a testing ground for a revolutionary approach to rehabilitation. |
| 1:35.1 | I'm talking about, of course, Netflix series unlocked a jail experiment. |
| 1:39.3 | Without further ado, let me bring on the great Sheriff Ross Teeple. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Steven D Gould, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Steven D Gould and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

